August 2012

August 31, 2012

What better way to celebrate your 17th win of the season, and first career shutout, than with a Gatorade shower, then getting the bucket stuck on your head and sprayed with a shaving cream smiley face by Michael Morse, and then a shaving cream pie courtesy of Edwin Jackson. Congrats to Gio Gonzalez. Here's Gio after the game, via MASN:

Reporter:"Any panic when the Gatorade bucket was on your head?"

Gio:"No. I was
just afraid that I might let the faucet out. They were trying to do it
upside down. But I'm drenched now. I got all the Gatorade on me. And
shaving cream if you guys want any. About to shave now. But I love it.
When you get something like that, it's an honor to get Gatorade dumped
on your head. But not the Gatorade bucket."

August 30, 2012

Not much for members of the Nationals bullpen to do on a night like tonight, what with the Nats beating down the Cards, and Edwin Jackson cruising. And so there was the Nats bullpen, watching themselves on TV and waving in the seventh inning.

So it seems that this Stephen Strasburg Shutdown is really happening. No shenanigans. No [insert ridiculous idea here]. No phantom injury/trip to the DL. No moving him to the bullpen for a while. No early hooks to save an inning or two here or there. No pushing his arm into the unknown until there's no baseball left to be played this season.

"He’s probably got two or three. I said something to him
on the plane last night — 'You got a few more to go.' So he doesn’t
think going out there thinking that, 'This may be my last one.' And no,
I’m not going to drag it out and give him seven days between starts,
either."(Davey Johnson, via Washington Post, 8/30/2012)

Up above, video of Bryce Harper spiking his helmet to earn his first Big League ejection (link to MLB.com video here also). Here's Davey on Harper's big night last night, via Washington Times:

"A lot of good things happened with him tonight. And, like I (told him), 'I just can’t afford to lose you by you expressing your emotions that way. You just can’t do it. Come inside the runway and break a bat over your head or something.'... He’s a little emotional."(Davey Johnson, via Washington Times, 8/30/2012)

Here's more Davey Johnson after the game, on Harper's latest temper tantrum:

"He’s just a 100-percenter. And he expects great things
out of himself. He breaks bats, throws his helmet. He’s just got to stop
it. Can’t afford to be losing him in a ballgame with that. He’ll learn."

"I just need to stop getting pissed off and just live with it.I just need to grow up in that mentality a little bit. Try not to bash stuff in and things that I've always done my whole life. Those need to change." (Bryce Harper, via Washington Times, 8/30/2012)

"It wasn't our first discussion, and it's not going to be our last. There's nobody with a higher respect level for Davey than
me. I love the guy. [It was] two passionate baseball guys that give a
darn. ...That's how we do things. We get things in the open. There's
great communication between the two of us and there's a high level of
respect."(Mike Rizzo, via Washington Times, 8/28/2012)